Fire Dreams
by Deviant'Chaotic'Crow
Summary: Suffering from fever over his conflicted emotions, Zuko is blessed by the dragons Ran and Shao with mysterious visions. Will this new gift be a curse to all that he had once believed in, or will it set him on a path that he had always wanted but never truly seen until now? Chp 1 edited 15/08/2013


**Summary: **Suffering from fever over his conflicted emotions, Zuko is blessed by the dragons Ran and Shao with mysterious visions. Will this new gift be a curse to all that he had once believed in, or will it set him on a path that he had always wanted but never truly seen until now?

**A/N**: For all those reading my other story "The Lost and Forgotten", fear not for it is still my main A:TLA project and I have no intention of abandoning it…However, this idea took hold of my muse unexpectedly (thus slowing my progress for The Lost and Forgotten's next chapter…among other things) and I just had to post the introduction, or else it would have never left me alone.

Updates will be irregular and for now, the pairings are solely canon. Warnings include a very AU version of season two's ending and all of season three, violence, language and possible death.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything in relation to Avatar the Last Airbender, any of its characters or any of the pieces I use from the story. This is done solely for my enjoyment and for others. Standard disclaimer applies for every chapter.

* * *

**Fire Dreams**

**Chapter One: Dragons, Dreams and Destiny**

* * *

Amidst the burning fever and pain, Zuko dreamed. Visions and images of things that had forever haunted his past, as well as things that he could never (even in his wildest nightmares) begin to imagine.

_The Agni Kai with his father, somehow becoming far longer than it really had been, until fire spread with a burning voracity and all he could do was scream…_

_Three years at sea filled with an emptiness he could not describe and a purpose that left him questioning everything, before icy water washed over him and he drowned in the darkness…_

_Hunting the Avatar and facing trial, after never-ending trial, only to fail every single time…_

_Azula with her cold laughter, as harsh and unforgiving as any winter snowstorm… _

_His mother's face, fading every time he tried to reach out for it…gone, last almost forgotten..._

Fractured, _distorted _and warped by turbulent emotions, the memories played repeatedly in an everlasting cycle, pausing briefly when he half-awoke from his sickness, only to return vigorously when he once again lost consciousness.

Nightmare followed by another nightmare, until it all vanished and his dreams turned into something else entirely.

_Clad in the raiment and crown of the Firelord, Zuko found himself kneeling upon the Firelord's throne-mat, behind a screen of golden flames. In front of him stood rows of fire nation soldiers, and though he does not bring a hand up to touch his face, Zuko knows that the scar is not there. He sits impassively, not understanding the scene or its meaning._

_On either side of him, two lithe dragons, one blue and one red, slither down nearby pillars as if to address him._

"_It's getting late. Are you planning to retire soon, my Lord?" The Blue Dragon whispers softly and Zuko finds that its voice sounds compellingly like his sisters._

"_I'm not tired." He answers automatically, frowning as the Blue Dragon draws closer._

"_Relax, Fire Lord Zuko. Just let go, give into it. Shut your eyes for a while_." _It purrs._

"_No, Fire Lord Zuko!" The Red Dragon suddenly shouts his voice reminiscent of uncle's. "Do not listen to the Blue Dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it is too late!"_

_Zuko's frown merely deepened, confusion welling up inside of him like a wave, with both dragons poised close by._

"_Sleep now, Fire Lord Zuko." The Blue Dragon murmurs._

_And suddenly the scene begins to disappear, swallowed by an inky blackness with the pillars crumbling into the void and the soldiers collapsing like rag dolls. _

_Zuko searched the darkness frantically for any light, any glimmer, his eyes wide with distress…And then two golden orbs appear, then the face of the Blue Dragon, which is closing in rapidly._

"_Sleep, just Like MOTHER!" It roars, jaws gaping wide as it consumes Zuko and throws him once more into shadows._

_Then a figure appears and lowers the hood of its cloak slowly, revealing his mother's fine features._

"_Zuko, help me!" He hears her cry before the darkness consumes him once again._

* * *

Iroh watched on in concern as his nephew thrashed around in his sleep, muttering unintelligible words and a constant grimace painted across his face. The old general knew this was no mere fever and that the sickness was like a battle for the young Prince, a fight against each idea, each moral roadblock, that he had ever had.

Iroh sighed and wiped the teen's forehead with a cool cloth, wishing he could do a bit more than just watch and hope for the best.

"Be strong, dear nephew." He murmured, brushing aside a few stray raven locks. "Agni watches over you."

* * *

His nightmares are strange.

He sees himself as the Avatar and can't help screaming.

He remembers things he would much rather forget.

_"Remember Zuko. Everything I have ever done, has been to protect you. Never forget who you are." _

_"Do you think we could have been friends?"_

_"Father's going to kill you."_

His dreams are painful. He prays for the end.

* * *

Far away from Ba Sing Se, giant creatures long forgotten, stir as they taste the torment of a fire-cousin.

'He hurts.' The blue dragon sighs.

'We cannot interfere.' The red dragon barks. 'It is not set in stone.'

'You know what the current future holds.' The blue whispers soothingly. 'Even though they win, the world and spirits remain scarred...and our race...is forever extinguished...We cannot presume another future may occur.'

The red growls, crimson eyes gleaming with discomfort.

_They had seen what the future held. The great comets arrival and a burning path of destruction. Raiders and looters. The Sun Temple's eventual destruction..._

_Their greatest kept secret...gone and along with it, the hope for their species..._

'Fine...' He eventually concedes with a sigh. 'But I do not think this will help.'

'How can we ever know if we never try.' The blue says, sapphire scales shimmering under moonlight. 'We have to believe there is a different path.'

* * *

Within his world of darkness, Zuko found himself lost in a barren land of rock and smog-filled skies of volcanic ash.

_You are fighting child..._

_That is good._

What was good? Zuko thought. Why wouldn't the voices make sense?

Screams and images flashed through his field of vision. Things he had never seen. Conversations that simply could not be. Thoughts, emotions, pain...so much pain and betrayal...he would never betray his uncle!

_A cavern of bluish green crystals loom around him and the water tribe girl is there, looking guilty. Shameful._

_"I'm sorry I yelled at you before." Surprised at his own words._

_She offers to heal his scar and he wants her to, but then his uncle and the Avatar are there and he feel's angry. His uncle speaks._

_"You are not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to_  
_the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good!"_

_Azula attacks and his uncle is trapped_

_**"**Release him immediately!" He demands. He doesn't understand what is happening._

_**"**It's not too late for you Zuko. You can still redeem yourself." Azula says. A part of him holds hope in her words but another part whispers 'Azula always lies...'_

_**"**The kind of redemption she offers is not for you." Iroh trys to reason and Zuko wants to listen because uncle has always been there even when he hasn't wanted him._

_**"**Why don't you let him decide, Uncle ." Azula smiles. "I need you Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day. This glorious day in Fire Nation history. And the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have your father's love. You will have everything you want."_

_The temptation is there but he is still unsure...Is it truly that easy? Nothing has ever been easy._

_"Zuko, I am begging you, look into your heart and see what it is that you truly want."_

But he betrays his uncle, he lets Azula kill the Avatar...and he goes home.

_It's not what he imagined. He feels guilty and full of shame. Uncle won't talk to him and he feels awkward around his family. He should feel happy, this is everything he ever wanted! _

_Why does it feel empty?_

He sees more things that haven't happened.

_He and Mai kiss. He loves her...Did he love her? _

_He sends an assassin after the Avatar, because somehow he knows the boy has survived. After all, he survived one hundred years encased in ice._

_He finds out Roku was also his ancestor. That he and Sozin were friends and that Sozin murdered him, simply so that the Fire Nation could have something that didn't seem to belong to them. Sozin died hunting down the avatar..._

_Was that to be Zuko's fate?_

He is more confused than ever, but the voices urge him to watch, to learn and Zuko feels he must see it finished.

_Zuko may be home, but nothing has truly changed. He's still the boy that was scarred and banished all those years ago...only now he's older and actually has the courage and understanding to fight for what he believes._

_He confronts his father while the other nations lead an attack on the Fire Nation capital...an attack he knows will fail. __He decides to help the Avatar. He knows it is the right path. He sees why he feels so empty. _

_He betrays Mai as well, leaves her behind in order to protect her. Why does he betray all those he cares for?_

_Zuko is still the same child who got burnt and sees that his opinions never really changed._

_His honour was never lost._

And suddenly the images are a montage of swirls and actions he can barely understand.

_A fight on airbender cliffs and gaining trust. Dragons alive, ancient sun warriors and true firebending! Breaking into the Boiling Rock. Mai and Ty Lee taking on Azula. Fleeing the Western Air Temple. Sacrifice. Struggle. Fear. Duty to the world. Understanding. Friendship. Love. Sozin's Comet. Destruction._

_...His uncle forgives him. He fights Azula for the crown._

Zuko is back in the field of molten rock and ash clouds, on his knees and breathing hard. Tears stream down his cheeks and his stomach churns at the things he has seen.

"What-w-why did I have to s-see that?" He utters in strangled gasps, smoke and sparks furling from fingertips in his agitation. "I don't u-understand."

"They are visions of a so far, undetermined future. Choices not yet made and paths that have yet to be taken." A voice rumbles and Zuko is suddenly on his feet, stumbling away from a large creature that was not there before.

Crimson eyes sparkle at him.

"A dragon." He breathes and the giant creature seems amused.

"Yes, dear one. We are Ran and Shao." A second voice, much softer, whispers behind him and he is moving again when sapphire eyes blink.

"Ran and Shao?" He questions, looking from the blue dragon and then to the red and something makes sense. "The dragons I saw in the visions? The last two."

"Indeed." Ran agrees, blue scales rippling as she moves slowly.

"You are brighter than I thought." Shao growls. "Good, it will make this easier."

"I thought all the dragons were gone?" Zuko asked quietly. "They say my uncle killed the last one."

Shao roars and his scales shudder.

"We are here. We are not gone." He rumbles like a moving mountain. "You uncle is a true fire bender, worthy of the flame."

"Iroh spared us when he learnt that fire was not purely destruction." Ran murmurs. "That fire can be so much more."

"How?" Zuko asks. _He wants to know. He wants to make sense of these things he has seen. These emotions he has felt. _"Please explain."

_He can't believe he is begging._

Ran looks sympathetic.

"It is hard little one. We cannot give you all the answers. The spirits wont allow us to interfere completely."

"Then what can you tell me?" Zuko cried, frustrated. "What do you want from me!?"

_E__veryone wanted something._

"We want you to make a difference." Ran answered, unmoved by his shouting. "We want you to invest change before you make those mistakes...We want a future."

_Mistakes? _Zuko frowns and then his gut clenches. _Betrayal. Going home. _

"How do I know your visions are real?" He demands. "This is a lie. A sick, twisted dream brought on by my fever. You are using me like everyone uses me!"

"Not a lie!" Shao roars and Zuko trembles at the rage he can taste in the air until the dragon calms and seems more empathetic. "Dragons don't lie. We simply want peace. No suffering. Change. A future just like you."

The teen thinks back on the visions, the memories of what they claim will happen.

_Sunstone..._

_"It feels alive." He had told the Avatar._

_Could it be a dragon egg?_

_He can feel the truth in the visions even if he doesn't want to...__He can sense the way events and choices will unfold...__because he knows his uncle and what he would say. How he would act if hurt or betrayed. Knows his uncle would welcome him back if he should atone for his mistakes._

_And deep down he knows Azula. He knows his father...and knows that maybe his honor wasn't lost...he simply did not believe in himself enough to continue fighting for what was right._

Zuko looks up.

"What must I do?" He asks. "What can I do?"

Ran and Shao twirl and spin in a dance he has also seen. A dance he and the Avatar did to learn true fire bending.

"You have been shown what will be if you follow a certain path." The dragons intone. "The future is what you wish it to be and so the choices are yours to make."

The world began to fade and the dragons dancing became more chaotic. A swirl of colours. A sense of encouragement. And Zuko knew nothing but darkness and final parting words.

"We can only advise...and hope the choices you make, are the right ones."

* * *

_There are other futures besides the one ran and Shao have shown him. The future they say is current and most likely to happen._

_The other paths are darker...more dangerous. Just one minor change can cause an imbalance or sudden alteration..._

_Every decision, no matter how small, can bring hope...or complete destruction._

* * *

Golden eyes snapped open and Zuko sat up so fast, his joints clicked in protest.

His eyes took in the dingy room and...

_Back in Ba Sing Se?_

He heard a familiar humming and could smell different hints of tea in the air and what he thought was porridge.

_Uncle_.

The teen sighed heavily and collapsed back onto his sweat-soaked sheets, images and thoughts from the dream, echoing in his head.

_What would happened now? __Was it all that simple? Could he change the future just by being him? By making choices for himself?_

_Did he try?_

_Was it all real?_

* * *

**A/N:** I have decided it will be Zuko/Mai since my other story is Zuko/Oc and Mai/Haru...Sorry to all the other fans who made requests. I thought it only fair and I have no concrete pairing that I prefer.

I have edited this chapter so that it flows a little more clearly.

Facts;

I am using the theory that the Sunstone is really a dragons egg in disguise.

Ran and Shao have the ability to see possible futures and their outcomes.


End file.
